LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The fake email looked official right down to the email address, but it wasn't, and the Lafayette Catholic Diocese is out $7,600, Lafayette police said.

The diocese here reported the fraud on Friday after its internal investigation, police said.

The email appeared to come from a church official higher than the local diocese, police said. The appearance of the email matched the church's stationary, and even the email address had been cloned with the correct address to mask the genuine sender, police said.

The email requested the Lafayette diocese transfer $7,600 from its account into a private account, police said.

Since the email appeared to be real, no one initially questioned it, and diocese officials here made the transfer, police said.

Jesica Hollinger, communication director for the Diocese of Lafayette, confirmed the theft.